MARKETING PROGRAM?

How much does inbound marketing cost?

This is a bit like asking, “How much will a house cost?” — it all depends on what you’re looking for and how soon you want it. In the same way, the cost of executing an inbound program depends on the speed of your sales cycle, how much content you’re willing/able to create, how many personas you’re targeting, how much traffic you already get to your website and other considerations. Most inbound marketing agencies will work within a client’s set budget, but sometimes that means slower return on investment. In other words, the more effort and resources you put toward your program, the faster you’ll see results.

What foundational work is needed before starting an inbound program?

For a program to be optimally effective, it has to be geared toward the right people at the right time with the right message. And the only way to know who those people are and what message will be most compelling to them is to understand everything about your business model, competitors, sales process, customers, growth goals, and more. The knowledge gained informs the way an inbound program is designed — and will have a significant impact on the quality and effectiveness of that program.

Do I need a new website to do inbound marketing?

Maybe, maybe not. Some clients that come to us have attractive, functional and information-packed sites that just need some fine-tuning; others need us to work on some of the basics of inbound: blog content, conversion opportunities (offers) and landing pages, search engine optimization (making sure the site features keywords that prospects are using as they search for your product type), and other features. Some are overdue for a “facelift” that better communicates their expertise and relevance to prospects. There are a number of critical components of an effective website and their importance can’t be overstated — because your website is your inbound marketing engine.

Inbound also represents a significant investment of time and money. That’s why it’s important to get the buy-in of your leadership team early in the process. There’s no better way to do that than with facts, and we’ve got plenty for you to share with them!

Whether it’s leadership, sales, or operations, educating your teams on what inbound is and how it works will go a long way towards getting buy-in and it will make your program more successful from the get-go, because they’ll understand what you’re doing and know how to participate.

What’s the inbound marketing Flywheel?

We’re all familiar with the traditional sales funnel graphic, but the problem with that model is that once a lead has become a customer, they depart the funnel and are, for all intents and purposes, gone. Sure, your customer service reps deal with them when the customer complains or has a question, but what most companies care about are the people IN the funnel.

The Flywheel is a “virtuous cycle” in which the customer continues to influence future sales, and where all departments within your company influence sales and satisfaction. This is a better way to look at selling and serving customers because there’s 360 degrees of focus on people who can provide force to revenue growth.

What technology is needed to execute an inbound program?

To execute the various components of inbound marketing, a company needs one primary tool: HubSpot. To execute any other way is far more time-intensive and costly. HubSpot is an all-in-one CMS, CRM and marketing automation platform that allows users to develop and manage their websites, create and promote content, manage leads and workflows, host videos, execute search engine optimization, do analytics, create editorial calendars, track pipeline revenue and much, much more.

Why choose HubSpot over others?

Hundreds of third-party companies, users, and technology experts around the world are eager to provide rave reviews of HubSpot — and for good reason. It seems we can’t say enough about it, either, because Weidert Group has written quite a lot of content around the subject. We recommend you do your own research, too, but below are some very helpful summaries about the features, benefits and value of HubSpot and other platforms.

Agency vs. DIY

What expertise/capabilities does my team need to do inbound?

Working with an agency can look one of three ways: your agency can essentially act as your marketing department, it can be a valuable supporting “arm” of your department, or it can do defined types of work in support of your team (who would do the majority of the work). Our most common engagements are of the first and second nature, in which we act as the company’s marketing department or do the majority of the inbound work. At the very least, a company must have one (or more) people in-house who are dedicated to working with the agency to make decisions and help manage the work.

How can an agency write content for my business?

Weidert Group writes for a broad range of B2B businesses, including companies that make whey protein ingredients for food manufacturers, above-ground steel welded storage tanks, modified shipping containers, manufacturing productivity software, data center enclosures and many more. Each is complex, and it takes an experienced team to be able to quickly learn the nuances of the business (and its customers) to be able to write meaningful content for them. We do it by hiring only experienced writers (ours have an average 26 years experience) and by going through a process with clients to learn the specifics of their businesses.

What’s the benefit of hiring an agency to do inbound?

There’s no denying that working with an agency will save significant time and help organizations reach their goals faster when they work with an experienced inbound marketing agency. Doing inbound on your own is a little like trying to build a house without the expertise of a builder: you could do it, but it’s not going to turn out real well, (unless you’ve built houses before) — and it will take a lot longer!

That being said, some of our client engagements are limited to developing the program and running it for several months while we train the client team in all aspects of inbound marketing — then gradually turning over responsibility for content development, lead nurturing, social media, email marketing and all other aspects of inbound. How we design and manage the program depends on the capabilities you have in-house, and the budget you’re able to devote to inbound.

A benefit of working with an agency that’s often overlooked is technology. To execute an inbound marketing strategy, you’ll need to invest in technologies that make it possible to manage your website and its content, to monitor your social media presence, to analyze (in real time) your website’s traffic and engagement, to create workflows and use them to nurture prospects, to manage customer relationships (a CRM tool), and others. It’s a big investment and one reason many businesses choose to work with an agency that’s already made the investments and continues to update their technology.

What to look for in an inbound marketing agency

If you’re considering hiring an inbound agency, take a look at these guidelines to help you evaluate the quality of their work and how well they align with your needs and culture.